What Does Confederate Flag Symbolize

Controversy surrounds the issue of the Confederate Flag. Back in 1861, the Confederate States of America have used several flags, the most famous being the Battle Flag of the Confederacy.

The first Confederate flag was called ‘Stars and Bars’ and was designed by a Prussian artist. This flag was very similar to the battle flag of the United States and caused confusion in battles. As a result there was a second request for creating another national flag.

The second national flag of the Confederate States of South was the ‘Stainless Banner’ that became a symbol of the Civil War, but was claimed to be not right because it contained too much white and could send unintentionally a truce message.

In addition to the national Confederate flags, there have been unofficial flags that represented South as well, for example the Bonnie Blue Flag and was flown at the beginning of 1861 above the Confederate batteries that have first opened fire against Fort Sumter.

The national Confederate Flags symbolized mainly racial hatred and ignorance. However, other people see that the Confederate Flags also symbolizes the fight for individual right of the states, and also a controversy over the use of ‘medical marijuana’. This flags have flown in the past as symbol for the persons that sustained slavery, the states of the South that were seen as the last bastion of slavery. But what does Confederate Flag symbolize nowadays? Firstly, the so called ‘Confederate Flag’ is actually a combination of the battle flag colours combined with the design of the second naval jack. Basically, it has never represented CSA as a nation, but became a well known symbol of the South. The Confederate Flag is also known under the name of ‘Southern Cross’ or ‘Dixie’ Flag or incorrectly referred to as the ‘Stars and Bars’, the first national flag of the Confederate States.

In the 20th century, the Confederate Flags became again popular and in the World War II, these flags were used as the unofficial emblems of U.S. Southern troops. There are mainly two opinions regarding the symbolism of the Confederate Flag: some people believe that it is a symbol of racism and fight against equality and human rights. However, other persons believe that the Confederate Flag stands as a proof of peoples’ courage to fight for what they think is right, to fight for their own freedom and rights.

After all, every person can decide what the Confederate Flag symbolizes for himself and it should be respected because it is the proof of a history part of the U.S. nation.